Awaken (27 page)

I run, so intent on getting to them I
don’t even see the Talbert creature tackling me from the side. He
rams into me with the force of a rock slide taking me completely
off my feet before we come crashing down into the unforgiving hard
ground. I land on my back, my breath knocked clean out of me, and
the weight of the creature pressing down on my chest. His hate
filled face hovers above mine and I can smell the rotted meat
stench of his breath causing the bile to rise in the back of my
throat.

My clawed hands reach for his eyes
ready to tear his festering skin from its bones but he is stronger
then I think and he quickly pins both my hands above my
head.

“
Did ya really think ya was
gonna beat me at my own game now ducky? Wot? Ya think ya’s smarter
then ol Talbert? Ducky none and Talbert one...tra la la la
la.”

His black lips stretch wide in a
smiling grimace and I realize at that moment I was staring into the
face of true madness.

“
Aarrgh!” The scream that
bursts out of me is just pure frustration! I need to get to Finn! I
need to get this crazy bastard off of me! Lifting my head I smack
it hard into his face causing a ringing to reverberate in my ears.
Blood spurts from his damaged nose but he don’t loosen his grip on
me...he don’t even stop smiling! That grinning skull above me...
Finn’s cries for help....it infuriates me! Almost with relief I
feel the hot fire starting to flow through my veins and the buzzing
starting in my ears. It was happening! The chi overtakes me
rapidly, and with ease now I pull my arms out of Talbert’s grasp,
plant them firmly on his chest and push. He flies off of me and the
look of pure astonishment on his face is almost funny. I don’t
recall getting to my feet but I find myself looming over the now
crouching creature, shooter aimed straight for his temple. The
anger is replaced by the dead calm and I know what I should do now.
Just squeeze that trigger....take care of the problem. But then his
words somehow make it through the noise of the buzzing, into my
head and I hesitate. I realize he is pleading with me. But it
wasn’t just the pleading...the words he is saying, they stop me
from scattering his brains all over the road.

“
Forgive me mistress of
light...forgive me! I did not know wot you was! ‘Ave mercy mistress
new blood!”

He falls at my feet, cowering like a
child. I can still hear the others tangling with Cat and Finn’s
cries getting fainter and fainter.

“
Call them off!” I demand
urgently, my shooter still at his temple. “Tell him to bring the
boy back!”

“
Stop! Stop in the name of
the light!” His voice rings out loud and clear and just like that
all sounds of battle cease. “Beanie bring back the boy....the
mistress of light ‘as decreed it so!”

I cain’t understand why he is talking
like that but I watch in relief as Beanie comes back into view and
at seeing Talbert on the ground at my feet, he releases the boy.
Finn turns and aims a hard kick at Beanie’s shin making him bend
over in pain, before he runs to my side. I do a quick scan....Tater
is helping a woozy Jax to his feet and Cat comes slinking to Finn,
blood oozing out of a couple of nicks on her side but nuthin too
major don’t look like. But it’s the diseased creatures that hold my
attention. There are more now than before, all creeping out of the
darkness ‘round us.

I hadn’t realized there were so many of
them. Even through the gloom I can see all their pale faces....feel
their eyes silently staring.

“
Get up,” I say to the one
kneeling at my feet. He does as I ask but I hold my shooter on him,
still not trusting him. The look of hatred I had seen on his face
earlier when he had been atop of me, it was gone now, replaced by
...well, I ain’t sure what. An over head break in the clouds
provides a bit of moon light and I can now see a peculiar shine to
the creature’s eyes. It takes a moment for it to register, but I
suddenly realize it is tears. He is crying!

“
By all that is ‘oly I’d
never thought I’d live to see the day when the light would shine
again! It’s a miracle that’s wot it is! A miracle.”

“
Stop talking like that!” I
say, his words irritating me for some reason. Having all their eyes
on me, staring like that, it was making me a mite touchy. Beanie
walks up to me slowly and reaches out to me. I flinch, ready to
defend myself, but he merely touches my hair and I notice that in
the struggle I had lost my wrapper and my hair was hanging in
tangles ‘round my shoulders.

“
Did ya see it Beanie? Tis
the light no doubt. A true new blood! Someone run an’ tell the
others the light ‘as come!”

Talbert is still staring in awe but his
words, they set the others all to murmuring. It quickly turns into
an echoing chant.

“
The light! The
light!”

It spooks me something fierce. I wave
my shooter at Talbert.

“
Tell ‘em to shut
up!”

“
You ‘eard the
mistress....shut yer traps!” and just like that they fall silent.
What the hell new kinda craziness was this? Tater and Jax finally
reach my side but Jax is still holding onto the little man like he
was going to topple over any second.

“
You all right?” I ask. As
much as I hate to admit it the flow of blood down his face has me
worried some. He nods at me but his attention, like mine, is on the
creatures in front of us. They were all standing
motionless....still....like they were awaiting some command. Why
were they acting so strangely? It weren’t like they were scared or
nuthin, just ....awed is the only thing that comes to mind. Jax
looks at me with glazed, questioning eyes but I can only shrug. I
ain’t got no idea what’s going on.

“
You!” I say to the Talbert
one and he steps forward eagerly. I pull my shooter up expecting
another attack but he just smiles his ugly black smile at
me.

“
What’s happening? Why ain’t
they attacking no more?” I say.

“
Attackin’? No no, beggin’
forgiveness fer that mistress. Was a misunderstandin’ that was. We
saw yer shooters an’ thought ya’s to be Army. We woulda never
‘armed an ‘air on yer ‘ead if we ‘ad known,” he says.

“
Known what?” I ask but I
already know the answer. I just don’t understand why it was so
important to them.

“
That ya were a new blood!
Yer a mistress of the light....we ain’t seen one of yer kind fer
years now.....we ‘ad lost faith,” he says, still smiling that
horrible smile.

“
Faith? Faith in what?” I
say, rubbing my forehead. It was throbbin’ something fierce from
smashing it into Talbert’s face earlier and his confusing words
right now wasn’t making it any better.

Talbert looks at me like he cain’t even
believe I’m asking such a thing.

“
Why the prophecy of course.
Ain’t ya ‘eard of the prophecy?”

“
Humor me,” I say, still
trying to get to the bottom of this.

“
The prophecy mistress,”
Beanie says stepping forward and talking louder like if he raised
his voice it would help me understand better.

“
Everybody knows of the
prophecy. It is said that one day the new bloods would return and
reclaim the earth and heal all that has been broken and purify all
that has been touched by the darkness. It is foretold.”

Talbert elbows Beanie out of the way
angrily.

“
I was gonna tell ‘er that
Beanie! She weren’t askin’ you! ‘Ow many times I gotta tell ya
‘bout interruptin’ me eh?”

Yup....bat shite crazy....all of ‘em.
And what the hell was this prophecy talk? This was just getting
stranger and stranger.

“
Let me get this straight,”
I say shaking my head as if it would clarify the situation. “You
stopped wanting to kill us ‘cause you think I’m a new blood and I’m
supposed to heal and purify...something?”

“
Aye that is so,” says
Talbert still shooting Beanie a dirty look as if daring him to
answer me again.

None of this makes a lick of sense. I
look at Tater hoping that he at least can make some reason out of
this.

“
Tater what are they talking
‘bout? Have you ever heard of this so called prophecy? And why are
they all staring at me like that?” I whisper.

Tater studies them for a bit before he
answers back in a hushed tone so as they cain’t
overhear.

“
If I would have to guess
girl I would say they are looking at you in reverence. Every clan,
every pocket of humanity has amassed their own doctrines over time.
This group has obviously built a belief system on the basis of new
blood stories, passed down through the years no doubt. I for one
have not heard of this prophecy per say, but new bloods have long
been associated with healing properties as well as their great
strength…that much I do know. These simple...people have probably
taken those stories and expanded on them over time so that your
kind have been elevated in status. In other words my dear, to them
you are as near to the gods as they will ever get.”

Unbelievable! These creatures thought I
was some sort of what.....healer? God? What the hell was I exactly
supposed to be? Why would they ever come to believe such a thing?
As much as I didn’t want to I was going to have to look into to
this new blood thing...find out what exactly they thought me to be.
And why were they calling me the light? I needed
answers.

“
A suspected new blood in
our midst and this is how you treat her! Imbeciles...all of
you!”

This new voice blasts out of the
darkness and we ain’t the only ones to be startled. Talbert and
Beanie shrink visibly as the owner of the voice walks into view
from the shadows. Well, hobbles were probably a better word. She
was old....older then gra’da or anybody else I’d ever seen, so
shrunken and wrinkled and bony she looked like a long dead carcass
that had been left to dry out in the sun. Her sparse gray hair is
woven tightly into a bun atop of her head and her dress hangs
loosely about her withered frame.

She leans heavily on a wooden walking
stick as she makes her way to us, two others following her closely
ready to catch her at any moment should she fall. But she don’t
fall. She brushes past all the others and yanks the lit torch from
one of her companion’s hands and comes to stand directly in front
of me, studying me intently in the torchlight. I wince at the close
flame, try to shield my eyes from the burning light but she yells
at me.

“
Stand still!”

It shocks me enough that I do as she
says. She studies me a bit more with her dark eyes, like she’s
trying to peer into my soul, lays her wrinkled hand on my hair,
then leans back on her heels and cackles so loudly I jump. I think
she’s about to fall over she’s leaning so badly. The two others
fear the same and try to hold her elbows but she shoos them away
impatiently.

“
It is true! By all that is
holy, a new blood stands in front of us!”

Talbert slides in eagerly.

“
It was me Orakel...I found
‘er I did!”

Whack! She hits him soundly in the gut
with her walking stick and his breath leaves him with a loud
“Oomph!” as he doubles over from the impact.

“
You buffoons nearly killed
this child from what I have been told!” She gives a hard look to
Beanie who is trying real hard to hold in his laughter and just
like that his grin falls away and he backs up, out of the reach of
the walking stick. She certainly was an overwhelming presence. She
turns her attention back to me and I find myself under her piercing
gaze once again.

“
My apologies child, these
idiots make for quite capable lookouts but truly have shite where
their brains should be. Allow me to introduce myself. I am
Orakel....and I have been awaiting your arrival for a very long
time.”

*****************************************************************************

Against Tater and Jax’s very vocal
objections, I agree to accompany Orakel back to their camp. For
some reason I cain’t explain to them I know she is true to her word
and will not harm any of us, regardless of what her people had
tried to do to us earlier. Besides, my burning questions far
outweigh any fear I might have for our safety. They don’t like it
but they follow along with me, Jax muttering the whole time under
his breath and his hand on his shooter.

I try to keep track of our progress but
it ain’t long before I’m lost in the maze of paths and ruins we
pass through. If their intent was to remain hidden and unseen in
these iron bones then they had truly succeeded. I ain’t even aware
we are at our destination ‘til Orakel steps aside and says very
mannerly ‘after you’.

To me we were just standing at a pile
of rubbish and debris ‘til I notice an entry way and steps leading
down into darkness. Her companion holding the lit torch goes first
to light the way and I quickly follow, ignoring Jax’s loud whispers
behind me. I chuckle quietly to myself as I hear Orakel berate
him.

“
Oh for the gods sakes boy,
if we had wanted to harm you we would have done it long ago. I
wouldn’t have brought you to my home just to bloody it up. Now stop
your braying and move!”